I am writing to express an independent, informational, and intellectual view of thecurrent threat to the Nash Rocky Mount Public School system. As a politicallyunaffiliated, bi-racial pastor to over 3,000 people (including 1,100 K-12 childrenactive in Nash Rocky Mount Public Schools), I am quite vested in this issue. As is thecase with most political decisions, it is easy for the emotion of any subject to veer usaway from sound decisions that are in the best interest of all involved.

Taxes and The Common GoodEveryday as Americans and North Carolinians, our property, sales and utility taxesare used to fund programs, services, institutions, and infrastructure that we eitherbenefit from directly or indirectly. Nash County residents may not directly benefitfrom the funding formula that supplements the education of children living inEdgecombe County, but do benefit indirectly as there is a link between educationand job creation for a region.• I have yet to make a call to 911 or to use ambulance services since I havelived here, as I am certain many of you reading this also have not, yet millionsof tax dollars are earmarked for these vital emergency services.• Most of my books are electronic, so I never go to the public library, yet taxesare used for this critical public institution.• There are many residents of Nash County who have never used the highwaysor buildings their taxes help build.• There are retirees who have never had a child in the school system, yet aportion of their taxes and utilities are used to supplement the funding of ourschool system.

I doubt the Nash County Commissioners who are aggressively asking for a “fairnessof funding” want to establish a precedent of an “al-a-carte” taxation system wherewe all get to direct our taxes only to the services from which we directly benefit andaway from those which we indirectly benefit.It seems that a reminder of our origin as a nation is appropriate. The manifesto onAmerican Capitalism is Adam Smith’s “The Wealth of Nations”, where he explainedthat human involvement in economics is to “advance the interests of the society.” Tofollow this new ideology being espoused by the Nash County Commissioners wouldmean the GI Bill that enabled 10 million Americans to receive housing and educationbenefits would have never been funded. Anything that is good and necessary for acivilized society to thrive, like public education, is good for us all.

Collateral DamageThe removal of 1,800 children from the Nash Rocky Mount Public School system hasa potential consequence for which none of us, particularly the Nash CountyCommissioners, are prepared. Eighteen hundred children equates to 12.5% of thecurrent NRMPS system. Any businessperson will tell you that reducing anyinstitutional capacity by 12.5% results in a ripple effect and like throwing a pebblein the water you never know how many ripples will be created. Here are somepotential ripples:• Reduction of Title I, II, and III Federal Funding. It has been wronglycommunicated by the Nash County Commissioners that “the funding willfollow the students.” This is only partially true. The funding is both volumeand percent weighted. Funding will follow, but it will be much smallerfunding. There will also be a delay in this smaller funding as it is awarded inblocks of 24 – 30 months, so services will need to be offered to childrenwithout any funding being immediately available. This funding effects directservices of children as well as professional development of teachers. Theanticipated loss to the remaining NRMPS system could be as high as $10million annually. This is a classic example of voting against one’s owninterests as all the remaining children will live in Nash County and this willcreate a net loss to the very system they claim to represent.• Loss of Existing Jobs. Reducing the capacity of NRMPS will require reorganizationand the inevitable loss of jobs to teachers and support staff. Inlaymen’s terms, every 10 students create a job. The simple math of theimpending legislation by Representative Jeff Collins (at the request of theNash County Commissioners) could easily result in the loss of 180 jobs. Itseems our elected officials could better use their time creating jobs and notremoving jobs. The argument that those teachers would simply move to theEdgecombe County School System is implausible as there are still over 50licensed teacher vacancies within that system and for many teachers living inSpring Hope, Middlesex, and Bailey, it would be just as close to drive to aschool in Wake County as it would some schools within Edgecombe County.• Loss of Support to Teachers and Staff. Aside from being a pastor I do notknow of a more difficult profession than teaching. We as a community shouldbe actively advocating for our teachers in the classroom and the principalsand staff that support this vital public institution. Instead, ourCommissioners are deliberately creating an environment that is filled withcontention and division rather than support and encouragement. Everyonecares about job security and high morale and our teachers deserve no less.• Loss of New Jobs. Education along with Transportation, Health, Leisure,Quality of Life, Taxes, and Housing remain major recruitment tools for newcompanies and emerging economies. Dismantling our school system willgreatly harm our efforts in attracting new companies and in establishing the“twin counties” as a “bedroom” community for those working in Raleigh,Durham, and Chapel Hill. This inability to bring new companies and firms toour community will hinder our ability to expand our tax base and to producean even greater economic impact to our region.• Re-classification of Athletic Programs. Rocky Mount Senior High alonewill likely lose 400-450 students. This loss to the ADM (Average DailyMembership) will result in less competitive athletics and a loss of collegescholarships for countless young people for whom sports remain a viableopportunity for a secure future due to a potential change in division status.• School Closing. There has been no study conducted by the Nash CountyCommissioners ensuring there would be no school closings as electedofficials are not generally trained in the logistics and technicalities in theactual running of a school system. Conventional wisdom at least forces us toconsider that by reducing the NRMPS by 1,800 students, it may not befinancially feasible to continue operations at the same level. This isparticularly the case since the NRMPS system is experiencing a five-yeardecline in enrollment with a proven history that reduced capacity results inschool closings. An educated guess based upon school size and locationwould deduce that Northern Nash High School could possibly close due tothis legislation.• The Children. It is said that often we leave the best for last. Who isadvocating for our children? Yes, as North Carolinians, ALL the children areOUR children. We are a community. We are a region. When I moved herefrom Philadelphia 11 years ago, I was introduced to the “twin counties.”What a way to treat your twin! 1,800 children moving out of NRMPS is morechildren than Camden, Gates, Clay, Swain, and Washington County Schoolshave enrollment. This is equivalent to an entirely new and different schoolsystem being created with no plan, no structure, and no infrastructure. It issetting ALL of OUR kids up to fail as the remaining NRMPS kids will be facedwith the sobering reality that it was their parents who stripped down theability of the NRMPS system to meet the categorical needs of the children inprograms like IB, AP, AIG and ESL. The education of our children should be acollective concern. We must endeavor to provide every child in our regionand our state with every opportunity to advance and to actively contributeback to society.

I invite all of us to use our heart and our brain as we make decisions. My heart is forALL of our children and my brain tells me the loss of 180 jobs, the net loss ofmillions of dollars to our school system, the potential closing of a school, and theloss of college athletic scholarships is hardly worth the savings we as Nash Countyresidents will realize. It is my hope an agreement will be reached but despite theoutcome, we should all agree that no group of people should be allowed to playpolitics with our children.